<<Print>>

A FOUR-YEAR-old pupil of a private school at Dawhenya has died after falling into a manhole near the school. David Dan-Doe was said to have died after teachers of the school refused to rescue him because according to them, they had no extra clothes to change into as they would get dirty after diving into the manhole. The boy was said to have fallen into the manhole when he was pushed by one of his classmates while playing around the area. The manhole was filled with water to the brim and information gathered indicated that the school relied on that water. A visit to the school also revealed that pupils are taught in an uncompleted building which belongs to Nii Shippie Kutor. The mother of the boy was so devastated she could not utter a word when Daily Guide visited the boy�s family. Speaking to Daily Guide, the father of the boy, Benjamin Nii Dan-Doe, who looked dejected, said that he had a call from a certain Mr. Benson, a teacher at the school yesterday at about 4:45pm, telling him that they had conducted a roll call but could not find his son. He said he immediately called the house and asked the house help whether she had gone for the boy but she answered in the negative. He quickly rushed to the school only to find his son lying dead. According to him, information he gathered from some of the pupils indicated that his son was playing with his classmates around the manhole and was pushed by one of the pupils and fell into the manhole. He said when the son fell into the manhole which also serves as water for the school, the teachers refused to get into the manhole because they said they would get dirty and did not have extra clothes to change into. The teachers later brought a pumping machine with which they pumped the water and one Emmanuel, a Good Samaritan, came in to remove the boy from the manhole. Headmaster of the school, John Kwabena Akumani told Daily Guide that the school was taking its end of term examination and so after the little ones had finished theirs, they were asked to stay on the school�s compound and play so the upper class could their exams. He noted that during that time, one of the teachers, Mr. Noah had rescued a goat which got trapped in the manhole so it was possible the pupils wanted to see what was in the manhole. He said later, one of the pupils came and reported that a boy had fallen into the manhole. According to him, the teachers could not dive but two others said they could dive so they quickly dived into the manhole and with the help of Emmanuel, the boy was rescued but it was too late. According to him, it was not true that the teachers said they did not want to get dirty, thus refusing to rescue him. He also said that the school had reservoirs and therefore did not depend on the manhole for water. He however admitted that the school was using the uncompleted building without the consent of the owner. The owner of the house, in an interview, said that for the past six months, he had not been to his house which he had left in the hands of caretakers. He confirmed that he did not give his house to the school. The case has been reported at the Prampram Police station while the body has been deposited at the Tema General Hospital Mortuary.